Clifford Park provides thrills

Glen McCullough
Sports journalist
Glen was transferred to the Chronicle editorial section from the comp room in 1992. He worked initially as a racing sub-editor, sport sub-editor and paginator. He worked as a fill-in racing and sport writer during that time before moving into writing full-time.

RACING: An historic Weetwood moment and a record-breaking season from trainer Ben Currie headlined last year's Toowoomba racing news pages.

Currie's stable dominated Clifford Park racing, almost to the exclusion of everyone else, with a run of success not seen at the track in its 155-year history.

Currie saddled more than 70 Clifford Park winners for the season to smash the record set by Mark Webb in the 2008-09 racing year.

Currie's home-track domination provided the foundation for his victory in the Queensland trainers' premiership where he pipped former Toowoomba trainer Tony Gollan for the title with 1031/2 wins.

His highlight year included a history-making Weetwood Handicap success in April when he produced Col 'N' Lil for a first-up victory in his home feature sprint.

Col 'N' Lil and Jumbo Prince crossed the Weetwood finishing line locked together to complete the first dead-heat for first in the event's history.

Ill-fated Brisbane stayer Cylinder Beach completed a dominant win the same day in the Toowoomba Cup for trainer Desleigh Forster.

Col 'N' Lil's shared win with the horse trained by by Currie's uncle Michael Nolan set the stable on a winning Winter Carnival path.

Currie led the way for Queensland during the carnival with further Listed victories to With A Promise, Cantbuybetter and Col 'N' Lil.

While Currie's Clifford Park premiership win became a mere formality from midway through the season, the race to find Clifford Park's premier rider for the year turned out to be a thriller.

The contest developed into a three-way tussle with Beau Appo, Nozi Tomizawa and the absent Skye Bogenhuber all in contention until the finish line.

Bogenhuber had transferred to Perth two months earlier and looked to have surrendered all chance of winning her sixth successive Clifford Park title.

But she wasn't collared until the final day when Appo was successful with a last-race protest to draw level with Tomizawa on 33 wins before claiming his first Clifford Park premiership on a countback of placings.

Bogenhuber finished the season on 32 wins.

Toowoomba trainer John Zielke also enjoyed a successful year with winter carnival success to Dreams A Plenty and a dominant start to the Queensland two-year-old racing season.